First guest ever, booked as one person, now suddenly 4!

[Robin509]

Dear Community, please help!

Our first ever guest booked as one person for 2 nights. She has no profile info, and no history. The day after she booked, my husband broke his hip- we are 1.5 weeks out from this, so are under a lot of stress already. (She is aware of this)
Yesterday I messaged to confirm she was booked as a single- she replied it was herself and her husband. No problem.
Tonight I get a message from her asking if the sofa bed has linens, because 2 more people will be staying for one night. 
????

How do I handle this? My gut is saying  NO no no no no.
But it is my first ever booking, and I don't want a bad review... I'm already stressed to the max, trying to keep the booking after my husband just had to have a hip replacement (I am sole caregiver). 
Can a guest just add people at random? Can I raise the price for extra guests? Raise the cleaning fee?
And how can you, in the description of your property, say you provide coffee WITHOUT breakfast? (no option for that, in listing- if you provide coffee, apparently you provide breakfast).  😞
Thank you for your quick responses!

[Nancy26]

How many people does your place hold normally? Two or four?   I would kindly tell her that you accepted her reservation with the understanding it was one person and two is understandable for a reservation made by one person.  Tell her that four is not possible (unless you advertise that the place accommodates four).   If your place accommodates four then she is letting you know that two more are coming.

My other advice is don't host anyone without reviews or ask for some background information. 

[Robin509]

Thank you Nancy, for your response. Very helpful 🙂

[Nancy26]

PS: I provide coffee with amenities, but just mention in the description, not that I provide breakfast. 

[Kath9]

@Robin509, welcome to the Airbnb Hosting Community! So sorry that your first experience has been so stressful (and on top of your poor husband's broken hip!). And your cottage looks so sweet!

OK, first of all, no, guests should not just add extra guests at random without informing you. This is basic common courtesy. Unfortunately, it does happen a lot when hosts are not onsite and Airbnb does nothing to police this. For this particular situation, unless the guest is breaking a bunch of other house rules, I would just let it ride - don't add more stress for yourself and don't risk getting a bad review. They will be gone by tomorrow and then you can take a breath and review how you are handling your bookings.

These are my suggestions for future bookings:

1. Make sure Instant Book is switched off, at least until you get a bit more used to being a host. If everyone has to send a request, then at least you can make sure you're feeling more comfortable with them before accepting. Unfortunately, we can no longer see guest profile pictures anymore until a booking is confirmed (which many hosts are very unhappy about) but at least get a feel for them through your communication.
2. Review your prices! You need to be charging more for extra guests as it is going to cost you a lot more to wash four sets of bedding than one. To do this, go into your listing, go to Pricing > Standard Fees and Charges > Edit > Extra Guests. Bear in mind that this won't necessarily stop some people bringing extra guests on the sly, but most people are pretty honest. Also, if you live on the property or nearby, you can always check how many people are coming and going. If you do live in a house on the property, I would clearly state this in your listing to deter people trying to sneak in extra guests. If not, think about installing cameras.
3. Cleaning fee: you can set your cleaning fee to whatever you like but as this is a one-off fee, you can't change it according to the number of guests you have. You are better off charging for the extra guests. However, your cleaning fee does seem very low for a whole cottage.
4. Providing coffee without breakfast: just state this in your listing. Don't tick 'breakfast provided' but just say somewhere in the listing (e.g. Guest Access or Other Things to Note) that coffee is included (see my listing if you like for an example)
5. Listing details: you have stated that there are two beds for four guests but your photos only show one. I would very clearly state in your listing that one of the beds is a sofa bed, otherwise you risk having unhappy guests in the future.
6. Reviews: please be honest in all your reviews of guests (including this one). We hosts can only rely on each other as Airbnb won't necessarily have your back. Reviews should always be brief, professional and honest (never get emotional). For example, for this particular guest, you could say something like 'XX left the cottage clean and tidy but unfortunately had additional guests to stay without communicating this to me'. Then mark her down for communication and give her a thumbs down to prevent her instantly booking with other hosts.

I hope this helps. Best of luck with your future bookings and I hope your husband gets better soon!

[Robin509]

Thank you, Kath, for responding.- lot's of really good advice. The guests don't check in until this Friday, and I have asked their understanding on not adding 2 more people at the last minute... we'll see how it goes.

[Helen3]

@Robin509 

This is not about you asking for her understanding. If your accommodation is not set up to receive more than two guests, you need to categorically state this to the guest and confirm to her that no more than two guests are allowed at your place.

If she turns up with more you can ask Airbnb to cancel the booking.

Unfortunately some guests try to take advantage of new hosts by pushing for things like extra guests that they now experienced hosts would turn down.

As others state you should be charging per guest.

If your husband has broken his hip and you are his main carer giver, you could look at cancelling the guests trip under extenuating circumstances.

EDIT

I have just checked your listing, it is clear it accommodates a maximum of two guests, you could have turned down her request for the extra two guests straight away.

I notice do you don't have an extra fee for the second guest, please change this now so you cover the cost of having a second guest stay.

In your situation I would ask Airbnb to cancel the booking because the guest is asking for an additional two people to stay when it is clear the cottage takes a maximum of two guests and you are concerned that she will turn up with more guests than have booked and you are now uncomfortable with the guest staying.

As has been suggested please take instant book setting off your listing so you can vet your guests before accepting bookings. You can also snooze your listing (put it on hold, while your husband is unwell)

Finally please check what others are charging locally for similar properties. Your price looks very low (but i am not familiar with your local market).

[Kath9]

@Robin509, apologies, for some reason I interpreted your original post as saying she'd already checked in and I based my response on her already being at the property and then just inviting two more people over without informing you. So, with this new information at hand, honestly, I wouldn't worry about it and just let her have the two extra guests.

@Helen3, when I looked at Robin's post yesterday, it stated a maximum of 4 guests and there was no charge for extra guests, which is obviously what this guest was basing it on. Robin, I'm guessing you've changed it since then? Also, now, when I go into your profile, there is no listing information at all, so I guess maybe you've snoozed or delisted it.

Anyway, as I said, when the guest booked, the listing stated a maximum of 4 guests for the same price, so despite the late notice on the extra guests, I would give them the benefit of the doubt and just accommodate them.

Just one last thing, Robin, if you want to alert someone that you have responded, type the @ symbol which will bring up the list of names of people who have contributed to the post. Click on the person you are replying to and they will be alerted by email.

[Robin509]

@Kath9 @Helen3  @Nancy26 Hi  Ladies- I did change the number of guest to 2 (for future bookings, not the one in question), then snoozed it, until I am more sure of how everything works. I truly appreciate all your comments and advice! Sometimes the "hints" provided by Airbnb aren't the most helpful, but all of your advice was/is. For instance, Airbnb latest advice was to lower my rate to $37.00/night. Seriously??? I was already on "smart pricing"... anyway...

The guest in question was ok with the other couple not spending the night, as they live here in town, but then wanted to have other visitors, including children.
I didn't have a good feeling about the reservation after it first being for 1, then 2, then 4, then 2 with unlimited guests coming in and out. (She just wasn't very forthcoming.)

By mutual agreement she canceled, and I helped her find another place to stay. Airbnb said this would not effect either of our ratings.

I would like to thank you all, again, for taking the time to respond- I appreciate you!

[Kath9]

@Robin509, I'm glad it's worked out OK and it sounds like you might have dodged a bullet (you're right, her not being forthcoming and randomly changing her information was probably a red flag). However, don't let this experience put you off hosting - it's generally a great experience. But be smart about it and don't succumb to the pressure from Airbnb to do things e.g. don't use Instant Book (no matter how much pressure ABB puts on you) or if you do, make sure you set it up with conditions, don't use Smart Pricing, ignore the messages from ABB telling you to lower your price (everyone gets this), and always, always go with your gut. Communicate with your guests beforehand so you can get a good feel for them before accepting their booking. Best of luck with it and hope your husband's hip recovers soon!

[Inna22]

@Robin509

I do not agree with switching IB off and charging for a second guest. You will find many opinions on this forum so just read up to see what suits your hosting style best. Don’t snooze your listing. You are currently getting a new host boost, take advantage of it.

[Kath9]

@Inna22 @Robin509 I agree not to charge extra for a second guest. Originally I suggested this on the basis of four guests, but not for two. 

[Anonymous]

@Robin509  For any host who has concerns about guests bringing a parade of randoms into their homes, it's important to have a rule that goes something like:  "Only the guests named and registered in the original booking are permitted in the property. No additional guests or visitors will be admitted."  

If a guest requests to add another person to their booking after confirmation, either you or the guest can initiate an Alteration which changes the number of people. Both parties must agree to it, but it is an important step to take before the check-in.

For lower-cost listings, a fee for a second guest is sensible. I say this because competitively priced Budget hosts are not getting much compensation for their utility costs compared to Luxury hosts, and things like the extra hot water, wear and tear, and risk are significantly higher for a party of 2 than of 1. (Not to mention linens, if the two choose not to share the bed).